Judge overturns Colorado man's conviction in rape case

Published
10:39 am EDT, Friday, May 17, 2019

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) — A Colorado judge has overturned an attempted sexual assault conviction after the victim testified in a separate trial that the sexual contact between her and the man was consensual.

The Durango Herald reports Judge William Herringer ordered this week for 19-year-old Anthony "Izzy" Fitts to be released from prison and for his conviction to be expunged.

Fitts was sentenced last year to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and two counts of attempted sexual assault.

Authorities accused Fitts and two other Durango men of sexually assaulting a woman at gunpoint in October 2017.

Prosecutor Christian Champagne says the victim had a "fundamental misunderstanding" of how the facts intersect with the law.